Lessons

The Love of Christ in Heavenly Places – In the study on “The Hope of the Church of the One Body” we looked at the phrase “foundation of the world”. In doing so we discovered that this phrase occurs ten times in scripture. Seven of them are used with the words “from or since the foundation of the world”. We found that all seven of these references pertain to Israel and the calling they have in Abraham. There are three occurrences where these words appear together with a different time emphasis when it says “before the foundation of the world”. In these three passages we learn about the love of Christ in heavenly places. In John 17:22-24 we find the Lord praying in the Garden of Gethsemane to God and Jesus speaks of the love the God had for him before the foundation of the world. Next, in 1 Peter 1:18-20 we find a description of Jesus and his blood being foreordained before the foundation of the world as a lamb without blemish or spot. And finally, in Ephesians 1:3-4 we see that he has chosen us (that “us” applies to the church of the one body) before the foundation of the world. Further, we see in Ephesians 2:4-10 we receive the same love that Christ receives and are holy and without blame (being the same words that were used to describe the precious blood of Christ being a lamb with blemish or spot). Then in Ephesians 3:9-21 we learn about the eternal purpose of God that was accomplished in Christ Jesus. No wonder Paul tells us to walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). The love we have from Christ is in Heavenly Places and we are there with him right now! Isn’t it nice to know you are loved (Eph 3:17-19)! The lesson on September 16, 2007 teaches on the Love of Christ in Heavenly Places. You may also want to download the handout to review while you listen.